Entryways in commercial and residential buildings serve several important purposes in their role as a transition from an exterior to an interior environment. The primary goal of an entryway is to allow for ingress and egress while insulating the interior from the exterior. Entryways are intended to prevent intrusion of rainwater. Entryways are also intended to prevent passage of air through the entryway when a door panel is in the closed position, keeping out cold air in the winter and keeping in conditioned air in the summer. Entryways can also enhance the appearance of a building using window features, French door arrangements, and varying finishes of sill decks and threshold caps.
Most entryways begin with the same set of base components. Nearly all entryways are framed by a header jamb connected across the top of two vertical side jambs. The bottom of the entryway is then defined by a threshold. These thresholds are typically comprised of a substrate, a sill deck, and a threshold cap. The substrate provides a base for the sill deck. The sill deck provides a durable tread surface covering the substrate. Sometimes the substrate and the sill deck are integrated into a single component. The threshold cap is provided to form a sealing surface with the bottom of a door panel. Often, the threshold cap is self-adjusting or manually adjustable to help maintain a proper seal with the bottom of the door panel.
Sill decks and threshold caps are often installed in the entryway of buildings relatively early in the construction process in order to substantially close the building to the environment. After installation, a significant amount of construction work remains to be performed within the house or building. Continued heavy traffic of workers entering the building, including the movement of substantial equipment and materials, can often lead to denting, scuffing, or scratching, or otherwise damaging the sill deck or other threshold components. Other substances can also stain the threshold during construction, such as dripping paint, stain, or masonry mortar.
Protective covers have been used to temporarily remain on the threshold during construction. These protective covers help to protect the surface of the sill deck and threshold cap from damage during construction and can be removed by the builder or homeowner after completion of the final walk through and clean up, to preserve the “like new” appearance of the entryway of a new house.
Though temporary protective covers for thresholds are known, door hangers may look to minimize material costs by providing their entryways without such protective covers. Therefore, there remains a need for an improved cover that can be easily manufactured at a low cost and with an option for the degree of protection provided, to promote the use of protective covers during construction or remodeling.